Gauchos Head to Hayward Field for Oregon Relays

The Schedule
Friday April 24 - Saturday April 25, 2009
Oregon Relays, at Hayward Field
University of Oregon - Eugene, Ore.

Last Time
It was a busy week for the Gauchos last time, with a multi-event competition and two meets taking place from April 15-17. The competitions began with the California Invitational Heptathlon on April 15-16, with Barbara Nwaba winning the event with a new personal best of 5039. Nwaba improved her school record and was only 11 points shy of the provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships. The next day at the Mt. SAC Relays, Scott Smith improved his 1500m time to 3:44.28. Smith currently holds the second-best time in the Conference in the 1500m, and is the Conference leader in the 5000m (14:03.26). At the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific, Ryan Martin set the second-fastest time in the Conference in the 400m by running 47.75. Martin is also second in the Conference in the 800m (1:49.79), which is his main event.

This Weekend's Meet
The Gauchos will travel to Eugene, Ore. to participate in the Oregon Relays, which take place at historic Hayward Field on Friday April 24 and Saturday April 25. Over 2,000 competitors will partake in the meet, which begins each day at 10:00 a.m. with featured events beginning at 4:00 p.m. Live results and final results will be available at GoDucks.com, and the meet will also be broadcast over the internet at the O-Zone at GoDucks.com

Ryan's On A RollRyan Martin has set a personal best two weeks in a row, in two different events. At the Big West Challenge Cup on April 10, Martin qualified for Regionals in the 800m by running 1:49.79, which places him at fifth all-time for UCSB. Then last Friday at the Bryan Clay Invitational, Martin moved down a distance and set a lifetime best in the 400m at 47.75. That time is currently the second-best in the Conference and the eighth-best in UCSB history.

The Irene Scene
At the Big West Challenge Cup two weeks ago, Irene Kujore earned herself a ticket to Regionals by throwing the discus 158-11 (48.43m). Kujore's mark is currently fourth in the Conference and the fourth-best in UCSB history. Coach Keith Baker described the throw as "a line drive" and believes that Kujore can achieve an even better mark with a little extra elevation. Look for Kujore to improve her mark and move up the Conference ranks in the upcoming weeks.

Week by WeekScott Smith has continued to improve his 1500m as the season rolls along, and at at the Mt. SAC Invitational he improved his time to 3:44.28. He currently holds the second-best time in the Conference and the second-best time in UCSB history, and he has also qualified for Regionals in both the 1500m and 5000m.

Record Padding
At the California Invitational Multi-Events on April 15-16, Barbara Nwaba won the heptathlon by scoring 5039 points. That score improves her UCSB record and is just 11 points shy of the provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships, which Nwaba hopes to achieve this season. Nwaba set a personal best in five of the seven events during the heptathlon.

Great ExampleJulian Samson is featured as this week's Great Example in UCSB Athletics. The story can be found on the main page of UCSBgauchos.com, or by clicking here.

There's No Place Like Home
Next Saturday, May 2, the Gauchos will host their final home track meet of the season. The meet will be the annual dual against Cal Poly, and it will be held at Pauley Track. Schedules and entries will be posted on UCSBgauchos.com next week.

Quick Recap: Big West Challenge Cup April 10Ryan Martin set a personal best in the 800m by more than two seconds, coming across the line in 1:49.79 for the win. Martin's time was the fifth-fastest in UCSB history and earned him a trip to Regionals. Irene Kujore also qualified for Regionals with her toss of 158-11 (48.43m) in the discus, which is currently the fourth-best discus mark in UCSB history. In the team scoring, the men took second with 178 points and the women took fourth with 152 points.

Quick Recap: Cal Poly Invitational April 4
Several athletes made their season debuts, including Scott Anderson in the throws--who took first in the shot put at 56-0.75 (17.09m) and second in the discus at 160-10 (49.02m). Julian Samson qualified for Conference in the discus with a throw of 150-1 (45.75m), and Tayler Williams qualified in the long jump at 19-4.50 (5.91m)--just short of the school record.

Quick Recap: Cal/Nevada Championships March 28-29Scott Finley cleared a Regional-qualifying16-6.75 (5.05m) in the pole vault, which places him at second all-time for UCSB. June Farley reached ninth all-time in the 10,000m by running 36:44.99, Barbara Nwaba reached seventh all-time in the high jump by clearing 5-7 (1.70m), and Irene Kujore reached eighth all-time in the hammer by throwing 148-4 (45.21m).

Quick Recap: Stanford Invitational March 27Scott Smith set a new personal best in the 5000m of 14:03.26, which currently leads the Big West Conference and qualifies for the NCAA West Regionals. Smith's time is the third-fastest in UCSB history. Waleed Totari also reached the Gaucho record books, running the 10,000m in 29:54.16 to reach ninth all-time at UCSB.

All Gaucho Reunion
The UC Santa Barbara Athletics Department is gearing up for the 2009 All Gaucho Reunion, scheduled on campus for Friday-Sunday, April 24-26. Among other events, athletics will hold an evening reception on Friday night and a breakfast on Saturday morning. The Gaucho baseball team will host No. 12 Cal Poly all three days. For more information on the All Gaucho Reunion, please click here.